End of Innocence
by Shadows in the Light
Summary: There more to the world then Gloomsville. More to life beyond the borders of their home. This is a fact Ruby's discovered, and now, she'll act on it. But not everyone agrees... A collaborative work with Tall T.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a collaborative fic between me and Tall T. Basically, I created the idea, he turned it into this mini masterpiece. The idea first came when I saw a music video for Ruby Gloom with Sleep walker by Nightwish. Regrettably, the video was taken down, so I can't share it.

Anyway, on with the show!

_Dreams Awakening_

"_Do you know why Ruby wanted to meet us all in the living room tonight, Frank?"_

"_Len, you asked me that question just thirty seconds ago!"_

"_I know, but I thought maybe you'd heard some news in the meantime."_

"_It's gotta be important."_

"_I'm sure that if it was that important, Ruby would've told me in advance."_

"_Maybe she just wants to arrange another party, and needs our help to come up with an excuse?"_

As Ruby heard chatter coming from the stairs and the corridors, she finally put away the books and brochures.

Iris was wrong; it wasn't about another party. Poe was wrong; when she had something important to tell her friends, she would tell them all at the same time. And this _was _important; Skull Boy was right about that.

In fact, this might turn out to be the most important announcement she had ever made. It was a decision that could very well change the lives of every member of this household, and Ruby had been postponing the announcement for as long as she could, until she had considered every aspect.

The groups of friends entered the living room and began getting seated. Coming in last, again, was Misery who strolled in quietly and slowly after everyone else had already gotten seated, nursing her staff and holding it even more tightly than usual.

"I have a bad feeling." she muttered.

Ruby was about to open her mouth when Misery interrupted her:

"Yes, I now what you're going to say: I always have a bad feeling. And you're right." Actually, the bad feeling is a bit more odd than usual. I don't know quite what to make of it."

"I guess we'll figure that out very soon, Misery", Ruby commented, trying to remain her usual, perky self.

However, that was not going to be easy, considering what she was going to tell them.

"The thing is…" she said slowly, "After our train ride last month…"

"You mean the one where we almost crashed into certain doom?"

"Yeah, that one.", Ruby said smilingly. She could detect the snideness in Misery's voice.

"It made me think," she continued, "That I've seen almost nothing of the world outside Gloomsville. In fact, I've only ever been out of town twice."

"Not including when you went to my aunt's house" Misery pointed out. "Okay, technically, you were _under_ it, but still…"

"I know, but I'd like to see the surface world as well.", Ruby said, giving her misanthropic friend another overbearing smile. "And that is why… I would all like you to join me for a trip around the world."

In the silence that now followed, you could hear a pin drop on a pillow.

After about ten seconds, Ruby was beginning to feel rather uneasy, and it suddenly occurred to her that she ought to specify one more thing:

"And… I want you all to come with me."

This announcement was not met with silence. All her friends began talking at the same time. All except for Doom Kitty and Mr. Buns, of course. And Scardey, who had already fainted.

"Please, please!" Ruby imposed, trying to sound as calm and non-commanding as possible. "I can tell that you have… issues with this, but one at the time, please."

They all stopped talking, and looked attentively at Ruby.

"Skull Boy first?" she suggested.

"Well…if you really want to see the world, I'm with you, Ruby. After all, I was the first one of us who wanted to go and see the outside world, and you let me."

"Didn't really work out for neither you nor us." Misery reminded him.

"Nonetheless, I can understand Ruby's wishes." Skull Boy continued. "And I'm with her all the way."

"Thanks Skull Boy, I knew I could count on you", Ruby responded with a warm, almost dreamy voice. Then she paused for a few seconds and cleared her throat "Now then…what about the rest of you? Iris?"

Iris looked doubtingly at her friend. "Well, I tend to stick out…"

"Which one of us doesn't?", Misery inserted.

"People often freak out when they see me. Except here in Gloomsville, that's one of the things I like about this town." She went over to a mirror and studied herself briefly. "I've tried wearing an eyepatch, and it wasn't very convincing." she continued. But hey, this'll be an adventure, and I was never one to say on to an adventure! And I sure as heck ain't staying here alone!"

She looked into mirror again. "I'll think of something to avoid drawing attention to my eye...a cap with a very low brim, or a hood…."

"Or a motorcycle helmet!" Len randomly suggested.

"Good idea!" Iris exclaimed, waving her arms enthusiastically. "But then I'm gonna need a motorcycle. Wow, this'll be great! I've always wanted a motorcycle!"

"We…we'll talk about that later." Ruby commented with strained cheerfulness. "Now then…Frank and Len, what do you say?"

Frank shrugged. "Ruby, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this - Before we came to Gloomsville, we had a few bad experiences."

"Like in the last town where we used to live", Len added, "- Plainsville!"

"What happened there?"

"Let's just say we were run out of town." Frank said.

"They had pitchforks and torches!" Len added.

"Exactly. And they called us Frankenstein." Frank continued.

"Which was really weird, because my name isn't _Stein_!" Len added. "And I tried to tell them that, but they…"

"Len, I'll try and explain it to you later", Frank interrupted him, "Again. But the point is, we tend to draw a crowd", he told Ruby. "And not always because of our music, unfortunately."

There was a pause.

"On the other hand", Frank continued, "This could be our chance to get a big break outside Gloomsville. We might run into some agents…"

"Yeah, and we still haven't taken a picture of the waka-waka bird for the cover of our next album." Len suddenly realized.

"Good point! I guess sometimes we're just gonna have to take our chances. Let's pack our instruments, a few demos and a camera, and we're good to go!"

That's great, you guys!" Ruby said happily. She took a quick head count to find out who hadn't gotten a say yet.

"Boo Boo, how about you?"

The tiny spook hesitated. "Well, I sort of wanna go, because I'm not scaring anyone in this house. Except for Scardey, but I don't get any points for that. Only problem is, I was assigned here. I've tried haunting out-of-town houses, but a prankster ghost isn't well liked in the outside world it seems..."

"So exactly how is that different from here?" Misery commented.

Ruby frowned slightly. What was the matter with Misery today? Of course, they were used to her being _negative _about things, but she was usually never this _grouchy_.

"I kept trying to scare psychics and they were less then kind." Boo Boo explained. "They had me banished to this place."

"So you can't leave?"

"Oh, I _can_, as long as I don't try to make a haunting ground for myself elsewhere. So I guess I'll come with you. If you all leave there's nobody for me to scare here, anyway."

"Not that you ever sca-"

"Misery, please." Ruby said, as calmly as she could. "Now.." - she made a quick head count in her head – "Scardey, how about you?"

While the rest of them had been talking, Scardey Bat had regained consciousness, and was currently sitting on a pillow Doom Kitty had brought to him. Doom then ran out of the living room, for some reason.

"I don't want to do this, Ruby. I feel comfortable here."

"Scardey", she began, "It's okay to be afraid…"

"Good, because I am."

"It's just that…you did so well on our train ride to the kitty spa. You were so calm and collected."

"Yes, up to a certain point. I can only take so much, Ruby. And the idea of going away for a prolonged period of time…

"It doesn't have to be for that long." Ruby pointed out. "Please, Scardey", she continued with a soft voice, "We're in this together!"

Misery looked as if she wanted to say something again, but she hesitated.

"It's going to take something more than the company of friends to make me…_not_ terrified to go out into the world again Ruby, no offense."

"Fair enough…", Ruby continued unfazed. At this moment, Doom Kitty returned to the living room, solemnly carrying something on a plate.

"How about…._this _something?"

"My crumpet! I haven't seen it for weeks!" For a little while, Scardey stared dumbfounded at the soft biscuit that served as his security blanket. Then he hugged it tightly, before he resumed himself:

"Very well. With my trusted crumpet at my side, I shall try to endure the challenges of the outside world with you, Ruby. But I am not making any promises."

"None at all?"

"Well, other than that I will agree to come with you."

"Great! Poe?"

The crow walked nonchalantly towards the middle of the circle in which the friends had gathered. Wiping his monocle casually, he said:

"Naturally, I will accompany you all on this ambitious and potentially trying journey. You are going to need a responsible adult to help you deal with your troubles."

"Poe, the last time we went out of town, _you _were the one who – "

"How about you then, Misery?" Ruby interrupted. As she once again wondered why Misery was acting so uppity tonight, Ruby looked her friend in the eyes.

"Me?"

"Yes Misery, are you coming along or what?"

Unfortunately, this seemed to be the one comment that could keep Misery quiet tonight.

"I spoke to Doom Kitty and Mr. Buns earlier this evening, and it's okay with them. So that makes you the only one who hasn't stated your opinion yet. Are you coming with us?"

The room fell silent.

"If I have to make a choice…" she began slowly, "…I'm not coming with you."

Everyone in the mansion knew that Misery was ever cautious and concerned, and in her situation, she usually had good reasons. But her almost immediate refusal took everyone by surprise.

"Misery…" Ruby began "I know you're worried. We all are, even me, but if you don't come along, you'll be left alone here. Well, except for Edgar and Allan…"

"Who, with all due respect to my brothers, are not very good company" Poe added.

"Then I'll just have to endure that." Misery said flatly.

"I know you, Misery. You may _seem_ like a loner, but really, you don't really like being alone for a longer period of time." Ruby said sagely.

"Yeah, you'll miss our company!" Iris butted in.

"I will manage." Misery answered, unfazed. "Just don't ask me to go back into the outside for a prolonged period of time. The world doesn't like our kind."

"What does the world have against people from Gloomville?" Len asked confused.

"Uh, I don't think that's what she meant, Len. When she says "our kind", I think she means _her_ kind", Frank explained his brother patiently before he added with a lower and more reflective voice: "Whatever Misery's kind is…"

"So how is that any different from the rest of us?" Iris asked Misery, almost rhetorically.

"Yeah, we're all in the same boat here, Misery." Skull Boy said supportively. "Remember what Frank and Len just told us."

"I know, but that only makes matters worse!", Misery commented. "When I said "our kind", I sort of meant us, too. Us, as in, you all."

She got up.

"Please don't get me wrong. I can endure being alone, although probably not as well as I endured it before I came to Gloomsville. But I ask you all to reconsider. Scardey said "prolonged". How long will this caper be taking, Ruby?"

"I don't know really", Ruby admitted. "But if we're going around the world, it's going to take quite a few months, at least."

"So you don't really know how long it'll take, only it'll take _months_. At _least._" Misery said significantly. "Are you fully aware of what you've just agreed to?" Misery said to the room in general, and waved her staff dramatically. "Because it didn't sound that way to me. It sounded as if you've just decided to go with the flow, often against better knowledge. Often against experienc_e_. _Bitter _experience!"

When Misery was getting in one of her dramatic moods, it was difficult for her to stop:

"I ask you again to reconsider: Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to risk facing a hostile world? Skull Boy! You went into the outside world, and you didn't find what you were looking for. The only thing you accomplished by leaving Gloomsville was longing for the rest of us, and leaving the rest of us longing for you."

"This is different, this time we're all in this together." Skull Boy argued. "Am I one hundred percent certain about this? No, I'm not. But Ruby want to give it a try, and I want to support her."

"_She's _not the one who's going to need support!" Misery bellowed. "At least _she_ can pass for normal. No offense to you, Ruby, but it's the rest of us that are taking the risks!"

"Then we're taking it for her!" Iris responded, "She is our friend."

"I can only hope you will still consider her a friend when this is all over." Misery muttered. She scowled, but didn't add anything else.

**

Six days passed.

Ruby looked around. Here friends were busy packing, with some exceptions. Edgar and Allan were staying behind to look after the house, Doom Kitty and Mr. Buns weren't going to bring luggage. For all she knew, Boo Boo wouldn't pack anything either – and exactly how was he supposed to do that? – but since he so often kept to himself (or at least stayed invisible), it was hard to say. She just assumed that the kid ghost would be ready by the morning.

But those who _did_ pack looked like they were going to be practical about this – at least as practical as they could be. Skull Boy was packing baggy clothes and explained to Ruby – without being asked – that he would be wearing them to make his skeleton physique less obvious. Iris was packing an assortment of things that could hide her one eye – A couple of sweaters with extra large hoods, a cap with a very low brim, and yes: an old motorcycle helmet. Ruby was not even going to ask where she had gotten that from.

Frank and Len were less practical. Obviously, they were serious about wanting to meet agents, because in addition to their instruments, they were packaging several colorful jackets. and sunglasses as well as spare copies of their latest albums. And film reels of their documentary.

Scardey Bat once again packed for any eventuality. He was currently on his fifth suitcase, but Ruby decided not to say anything. She figured that the more he packed, the safer he'd feel.

Ruby opened the door to the cellar, but she didn't go down there. For a while, she just stood by the staircase and listened to the sound of Misery knitting in her room down below. It was an even, rhythmic knitting, only occasionally interrupted by an "ow", probably caused by Misery pricking herself on the knitting sticks.

Ruby really wanted to make one attempt on persuading Misery to come with them. But Misery had behaved for the last week; meaning she hadn't made any more attempts at persuading the others to _stay_. So in return she ought to respect Misery's desire to stay.

That evening, Ruby arranged a Bon Voyage-party. Going away was as good an excuse as any to have a party, and a better excuse than what they usually could come up with. Even Poe's brothers attended, although they did nothing but sitting quiet in their chairs, nipping to a glass of sherry each. Not that Misery was much better company. Ruby could tell that she was even more depressed than usual, and for obvious reasons. All her other friends were getting more and excited about leaving – Even Scardey had taken a liking to the idea. Misery wouldn't be able to talk anyone out of leaving now, even if she tried to.

***

Misery got up early the next morning. She walked along the aisle where her bed was placed, and studied her collection of dolls. Before she came to Gloomsville, those dolls had been her only friends. She had even talked to them, and made them talk. How desperate is that, she thought. She _still _did this, from time to time. For sentimental reasons, probably.

And now the dolls were going to be her closest companions again. Somehow, she didn't feel as okay about this as she thought she would. Even the dust bunnies didn't seem as good a company right now, even though they moved, at least.

While she kept pacing around in the former dungeon cellar that was now her sleeping quarters, she could hear the sounds form upstairs – The sound of people getting up, and preparing to leave. It made her _think_. For the whole week, she had successfully avoided thinking about_. Depressing things will remain depressing whether you think of them or not_, helps, her great-great-aunt used to say, _so it's better not to think about them_. This advice had always served Misery well before. Then again, she had never had all of her friends leaving her before…

There were only two means of motorized transportation in Gloomsville: The trolley for short distances, and the train for long distances, i.e. out of the town. But the trolley passed just outside the manor while the trains left from the station in downtown Gloomsville. Ruby, Skull Boy, Iris, Frank, Len, Scardey, Doom Kitty, Mr. Buns and Boo Boo were in a hurry. The gang didn't have much time if they wanted to get on the morning train, so they had decided to take the trolley rather than walking all the way down to the station.

Finally, Misery heard Ruby's voice from upstairs:

"Misery? We're leaving now!"

Silence.

"Misery? Aren't you even going to say goodbye?"

Slowly, Misery walked upstairs, to where her friends were standing ready with their luggage. She looked at them for a few awkward seconds. Then she said weakly:

"Goodbye"

And then she turned around.

Some of her friends seemed to be provoked by this. There was a buzz of voices. Misery. couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but it sounded as if Ruby was speaking up in her defense. _Do I really deserve that,_ Misery asked herself. Did she deserve that after she had been too cowardly to even give her friends a proper, sentimental goodbye?

She could hear the main entrance door shut slowly, but significantly, from upstairs.

Misery hung her head. "I can't do it." She said to her dolls and dust bunnies. "I'm sorry, but I have to be with my friends. My _other _friends."

The dust bunnies squealed a collective "_Awww_"

"Don't worry, I know Edgar and Allen." She assured them. "They don't even remember where the duster _is_."

She grabbed her staff and her first aid kit. "It's the only thing I really need to bring with me", Misery said. She turned and looked at her dolls one last time – "No offense", she said to them – before running up the stairs. And out of the manor.

She looked towards the manor gate. Just outside of it, the morning trolley was getting ready to leave. Ruby and her group were already aboard, it would seem.

"WAIT!" she shouted, waving her staff as she walked towards the gate.

Then, in the distance, she thought she could see Ruby walk to the front of the slowly moving trolley and say something to the driver.

The vehicle stopped.

As Misery began moving faster, she took one final look at the mansion that had become her sanctuary for the past year. "Goodbye... Halcyon Days" she uttered softly. With that, she turned away and ran after her friends.

A/N: And here, dear readers, is where I need your help. Personally, I'd love to see this story continue, but, as Tall T pointed out, it's not really worth it if no one's reading. So it's up to you to decide if this should stay a one shot or you want to see the story continue. As such, we need reviews.


	2. Between Sleep and Awake

A/N: The long requested second chapter is finally complete! No turning back now.

And I really cant think of much to add...

_Between Sleep and Awake_

As Misery walked onto the trolley, she was greeted with cheers and group hugs, and whatever else they could think of to remind her that she was amongst friends. But for some reason, there was one thing nobody thought of saying, at least not until they arrived at the train station:

"Misery, what made you decide to change your mind about coming with us?"

Misery stared into the air for a few seconds, and as on cue, a whistle blew and a voice over the calling announced that the morning train would arrive on the platform in approximately two minutes.

"I just got sentimental."

Ruby looked uncertain at her friend. She knew Misery well enough to realize that she wasn't telling them the whole truth. But for now, they probably shouldn't pressure her much more. The whole of the gang was together again, and that was enough for now. And by the time the gang had gotten themselves seated, moods were high, and the awkward feelings were gone for the moment. Most of them were chatting on light subjects, although some of them had big plans:

"Now we can finally do some out-of-town gigs!" Len exclaimed.

"I wonder who we should contact first, a concert organizer or a radio producer." Frank pondered.

"I hope we brought enough vinyl's"

"Ah well, about those phonograph vinyl's...You might have to transfer them to a new medium" Poe pointed out.

"You mean like a cassette?"

"Maybe even newer. Nowadays, I've been told, they record albums on small aluminium diskettes. They call them...compress diskettes."

The two brothers gave out and "Oooh".

"How fascinating, Poe." Ruby said encouragingly. "Can you tell us more about technology in the outside world?"

Poe smiled. "Well, the trains don't run on coal." He began. "Instead, they run on gasoline, like the automobiles. They have more automobiles, too. Oh, and they have television instead of movie theatres."

"What's a television" Skull Boy asked.

"It's like a movie theatre in your home, only with more newsreels and matinees."

"How does it work?", Skull Boy wanted to know.

"Ah, well...you get the film rolls sent home to you, and then you project them on a small screen in your living room." Poe explained with certainty.

"Does television come in colour?" Scardey asked. "Back home, the cinemas were showing films in colour. I was a little surprised to see that the cinema in Gloomsville only shows films in black and white. But then again, films in Gloomsville seems to be quite different from the ones we had back home. For once thing, they seem to sing and dance a lot less. A lot less than the films back home, I mean."

"Uh...yes, I do believe they come in colour." Poe replied, although he sounded a little less certain, mainly because he got confused by Scardey's digression.

So far, Misery had been keeping herself busy with her knitwear, but now she looked up.

"Ruby", she began, "where are we going exactly?"

Ruby hesitated. Misery had asked her this in a tone of voice which seemed to suggest that she was the only one who didn't know. But in truth, Ruby hadn't told anyone. That is to say, anyone except for Poe, and that was only because he had volunteered to go and buy the tickets in advance. It occurred to Ruby that everyone had trusted her so much that they never even bothered to ask her exactly where they were going. Deep down, it worried her a little that everyone trusted her so blindly – even Misery, in the end. The whole gang had so much faith in her, and expected her to lead them on the right path. She had just as much faith in herself too, at least that's what she liked to believe, but she wasn't invincible. What if she let them down?

But she put herself together. "To, a city just outside the borders of Gloomsville county" she explained in her usual perky voice, "Mundania."

"Sounds harmless.", Skull Boy commented.

"Sounds boring", Iris muttered, sounding disappointed.

The gang resumed to chatting about more casual stuff, and Ruby was thankful for the pressure that was now being taken off her shoulders, if only for a while. Nevertheless, she was beginning to feel a bit uneasy, and she wasn't certain why.

After fifteen minutes, Skull Boy stepped outside. He wanted to have a look at the engines, if the crew would allow it. A few minutes later, Iris put on a hooded sweater and stepped outside as well, hurriedly muttering something that the rest of the gang didn't quite catch.

Ruby's breath was getting heavier. She wondered if the others noticed this. If they did, their attention was soon drawn elsewhere – to the sound of a loud "WOO-HOO" coming from the ceiling. A few seconds later, Skull Boy returned to their compartment, looking bewildered.

"Has anyone seen Iris?" he asked.

"She's up on the roof." Misery answered. "Again."

"That can't be good. This looks like a modern train. It's faster than the ones going through our district."

Misery got up. "You're right, this can't be good. And I know not good. I'll go check up on her."

"Isn't that like sending the leopard to keep the wolf out of trouble?" Scardey asked anxiously. While the rest of the company pondered at this metaphor, Misery walked through the wagons, following the sound of Iris' footsteps from above. She was thankful for an excuse to step out for a moment. Not because she wanted to be alone – not any more than she usually wanted to, anyway – but because she sensed a presence.

"Misery" said a voice coming up from behind her. It was a voice she knew very well, but the surprise made Misery jump.

She turned around and exclaimed "Malady!" The woman she was addressing looked at her with bored indifference, not showing any signs of being sorry or embarrassed for sneaking up on Misery like that.

"We need to talk."

"Not right now, cousin, I need to get my friend down from the roof before an –"

There was a loud, smacking sound, followed by the sound of a dump, as the train was passing right underneath a low bridge.

"- Accident happens…" she finished with a sigh.

"Sorry about your friend" Malady began, "But in a few minutes, I'm sure she'll be –"

"I'M GOOD!" Iris shouted, and the two relatives heard quick little footsteps from the roof.

"Is she a distant relative of ours?"

"No, just experienced. And thick-skinned. Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk to me about?"

Malady nodded. "I see you have been attentive enough to follow Skull Boy on his two most recent excursions out of town. However, you let him wander off on his own prior to that. You allowed him to leave town unattended for a few weeks. I was trying to tell you-"

"Whoa, is Skull Boy that important?" Misery interrupted her.

"Yes, haven't your auntie Morose told you that?" Malady didn't wait for an answer. "Anyway, I was going to tell you this when you met me and my sister on your last train ride, but you didn't give me enough time because you were busy playing Whodunnit."

"We weren't playing, we really thought Poe could have been kidnapped or killed."

"Whatever. The point is, don't let Skull Boy out of your sight."

Misery was puzzled. Why was Skull Boy so important, and was she supposed to know about this already? Her pride got the better of her; Misery didn't want to look like a fool in front of one of her elders. So she didn't ask. She just nodded and promised that of course she wouldn't let Skull Boy out of her sight again.

Then some randomly bypassing, well-meaning lady was careless enough to ask Malady about her foot. As Misery left, Malady was enthusiastically describing her gout in excruciating detail to the poor woman.

"What's so important about Skull Boy?" said a voice from the ceiling as Misery went into the next wagon.

Misery looked up, and frowned. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"What else can I do? Nobody ever tells anything." The voice responded. "You guys are always leaving me out!"

"That doesn't give you the right to listen in on private conversations. Maybe if you weren't –"

"Hi, Misery, who're you talking to?" Iris interrupted upon entering the wagon.

Misery looked up. "Show yourself Boo Boo."

The kid ghost slowly began to materialize

"As I was about to say", Misery said, facing Boo Boo, "it might help if you weren't always hiding from us. How do you expect us to trust you, kid?". She sat down.

"Aww, what's getting into you, Misery?" Iris asked. "I thought you were feeling better."

"I just have a lot to think about right now. Tell me something, Iris…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed anything particular about Skull Boy?" Misery realized that the question was too vague, but it was the best she could think of right now.

"Sort of."

"What do you mean?"

Iris sat down as well. "Half an hour ago, Skull Boy told me he's worried about Ruby…"

That's not what Misery had meant when she asked the question, but it seemed interesting enough in its own right. She listened attentively.

"Apparently, she's feeling ill."

"Since when?"

"Since a while after we got on the train. She's not saying anything, but Skull Boys says she looks fatigued, and she slouches. I haven't noticed, but Skull Boy is probably just more observant than me. He usually is."

"Same here - Meaning he's more observant than me as well." Misery specified. "But what could be making her ill? She's never had a problem with motion sickness."

"Well, she's been sitting next to the window all this time. But then again, so have I, and I'm feeling great."

"Whoa, think about it!" Boo Boo butted in, to the surprise of the two girls who had already forgotten that he was still there. "It's sunny outside!"

Iris winced. "So what does that have to do with anything? Do you think she's getting a sunstroke?"

Misery leaned forward. "I think I know what the kid means."

"Huh?" Iris looked confused, and momentarily distracted. Her eye was fixed on one of the windows.

I know it! I just know it!" Boo Boo exclaimed triumphantly, as much to himself as to the two girls. "Ruby's a –"

"_Sssh_!" Iris interrupted him. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Boo Boo asked, visibly annoyed. But both girls already seemed to have forgotten about the curent topic of discussion. Like Iris, Misery was leaning towards a window, curious about an unpleasant, frictional sound from the outside.

Misery suddenly got a look of wild panic about her face, as if she had realized something important. Freaking out, she knocked Iris to the ground while shouting:

"_Shrapnel!"_


	3. The Curse of Awareness

A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for this. I had hoped to get this to you last month but… yeah.

Anyway… well, to be perfectly honest, we've reached a turning point in this story. The lighter and softer world from the show and… well, I'll explain at the bottom.

_The Curse of Awareness_

Misery held Iris down, ignoring the cyclops' complaints. Her mind was racing with emotions and questions. _What's going on? Is anyone injured? Was this because of me? Or…? _Misery forced back those thoughts. They weren't important right now. She took a few moments to scan her surroundings. Boo Boo had vanished. Part of her hoped he was warning the others, but she didn't expect it. Iris had stopped struggling, but her eye was darting everywhere.

For several moments, she stayed still, her grip on Iris loosening. Finally, she slowly rose, pulling Iris up with her.

"W-what's going on Misery?" Iris asked slowly. Misery didn't answer. Moving mostly on instinct, she began moving towards the door, Iris in tow. Despite her forced calmness, one question wormed its way into her mind. _Did they find us already?_

Back in their carriage, Ruby and her friends had yet to be warned about anything. The sudden stop had thrown them all off their seats. Ruby had fell head first, but she had only been lying like that for a few seconds before a concerned Doom Kitty tried her best to push her head up.

"I'm okay, Doom", Ruby assured her, and got up. Like her cat, Ruby's main concern in a situation like this was for her friends. Skull Boy had a few bones to pick, literally, Frank and Len were checking on their luggage, Poe muttered something about the need for safety belts, and Scardey just moaned.

"Guys, how are you?" she asked.

"Well I can't speak for everyone", Poe began "But I'm fine, if a little bit stirred"

Ruby's set herself up. Her mind suddenly felt much clearer now. A moment ago, she had been feeling woozy.

Scardey rubbed his forehead. "Probably not as bad as it feels, Ruby.", he admitted.

"Yeah, you look okay" she pointed out. "Skull Boy?"

"I'll be fine once I put myself together…sorry that sounded a bit silly." He reattached his head. "But…you know."

"Ah here it is!" Len exclaimed as Frank gave Ruby a small gesture to imply that they were ok as well.

The compartment door slammed open, and Ruby's attention was turned towards the two figures at the door.

"Misery…Iris…" she began "Did you see what happened?"

Misery didn't answer. She took a long glance across the room. "Good. You're all here." She stated, picking up her purse, then looked around again. Everyone stared at her in confusion or puzzlement, except for Iris, who looked just a tad bit annoyed.

"As you have no doubt noticed, the train has stopped.", she continued. "It appears to have gone off track, so they won't get it up and running again anytime soon. We should get moving. On foot, if necessary."

This caused a bit of unrest among her friends. Ruby suggested that they should wait until the conductor arrived, or until the driver made any announcements. Poe thought that perhaps there would be trolleys coming to pick them up as a fallback offer.

Misery then pointed out that there were no cables out here on the countryside for trolleys to run on. To her surprise (which she nevertheless managed to hide), everyone accepted this argument. Really, did none of them have any knowledge of buses that ran on gasoline? By telling her friends that they couldn't rely on the train crew for help, Misery knew that she was probably lying. At least she was guilty of a tacit lie, by not mentioning the possibility of buses. But she needed to get them out of here as soon as possible, and away from the other passengers. If _they _were here, on board this train, she could not take any chances. Even if it meant that Ruby…

Poor Ruby…

Misery was leading the way, looking remarkably determined. She was usually not a leader type, but on the rare occasion when she decided to take charge, Misery tended to radiate of so much confidence that everyone found it difficult to argue against her.

The sun baked. Not as hard as it had done on that fatal day back home in Gloomsville, but it was hot. Ruby tried to stay focused. While Misery had never seemed so confident since the last Friday the thirteenth, her friends always trusted in her- Ruby Gloom - to keep the gang together. But after walking for a little while, she realized that she probably wasn't making a good impression. For one thing, she had some difficulty thinking clearly. There were some clouds in the sky, and when on occasion the sun went behind a cloud, she felt better. Was it the heat in general that trouble her, or the sun itself? And was she effected in particular? She looked around.

Scardey was moaning again, but strictly speaking, it didn't take a lot. He stopped after a little while, and Ruby suddenly noticed that he was just lying there as Doom picked a water bottle out of a bag, and tried to get Scardey to drink. At least this caused him to regain consciousness, but to her shame, Ruby realized that the little bat had fainted without her noticing. Feeling guilty about this, she wiped her forehead and decided to try and act a little more responsible. For starters, she should take a look around to see if everyone was here, and if everyone was okay. That's when she noticed:

"Where's Boo Boo?"

"He's here." Misery said without turning around. Her eyes were still fixed on the road ahead.

Ruby looked around. "Are you sure? He's nowhere to be seen."

"Ever heard of a ghost that appears in broad daylight?"

"No, but – "

"He's here!" Misery repeated, sounding almost annoyed. "Now please leave me alone, I need to focus."

Iris put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "If Misery says he's here, then he is. She can tell. It's nothing to argue about, Ruby."

"Okay, but what did she mean by 'I need to focus'.?"

"Whatever she meant, asking her about it probably won't help her to focus." Iris retorted dryly.

"Okay then."

Iris shook her head. "I'm sorry if I'm a bit moody right now, Iris. It's this whole mess we're in…"

Ruby nodded. When it came to Iris, he suspected there was another factor to be considered as well. They were wandering across a great Midwestern plain with no trees, no boulders, no buildings – basically nothing she could climb in, or jump onto, or jump off. Perhaps she was just bored

Ruby decided to turn her attention to the others. Frank and Len still seemed to be fine. Currently they were looking around in all directions. They also asked Ruby if she'd seen the waka-waka bird, but didn't hear her answer because it was drowned out by bird cries.

It had been cloudy for a good half hour, but now the sun was coming back. Ruby felt weaker almost in the same instant. She was wondering if it showed…

In front of her, Skull Boy was muttering something to Poe. She could only make out a few words:

"_See, I told you so…"_

"Ruby…" Skull Boy said, turning his head. "Are you not feeling well?"

So it did show. There was real concern in his voice, and on the spot, Ruby decided to give into an impulse: She acted even weaker than she really felt. Skull Boy reacted just as she expected him to: By running to her and catching her before she could fall. As he hugged her tightly and tried to comfort her, Ruby felt her heart beating faster. She wondered, in her dazed mind, if _that _was noticeable. The boy skeleton found a blanket in the luggage and wrapped it around her head. Maybe he could tell that it was the sun that bothered her so.

Of course, by now everyone else had also stopped to see how Ruby was doing. Misery's expression was a mix of guilt and frustration. The rest of the gang simply looked concerned.

"Be brave, Misery" Skull Boy urged her. "We only have a few hours left of walking before we reach Medioca."

"Skull Boy is right" Poe seconded. "Our first destination, which is indeed the city of Medioca, is only an hour an a half's walk away from here."

"Actually, it's nearly two and a half hours," Skull Boy objected "According to this map, and the calculations I made based on it." Not expecting any discussion about this, he wrapped the blanket even more tightly around Ruby and walked on.

"He must be really worried about Ruby", Iris confided in Misery. "He didn't even say that he must be related to famous cartographers or any kind of bull like that."

And so the gang kept walking. Occasionally, they would throw glaces at Skull Boy helping Ruby to move forward. If the circumstances had been different, the sight of those two probably would have caused a few giggles. But such as it was, everyone was just too concerned about their friend and guiding star.

After two hours of walking, a Medioca suburb was in sight, but Ruby wasn't getting any better. For the last fifty minutes, there hadn't been a cloud in the sky. Now she was staggering, looking visibly ill.

However, no-one could have predicted what happened next. Just as the gang was about to reach the first buildings they had seen for hours, Ruby suddenly started to growl. Then, she raised her arms, and without warning…

…She ran towards Frank and Len with a roar, as if she intended to attack them. Skull Boy managed to stop her by grabbing her shoulders, as gently as he could muster, and pulled her back.

"Ruby, what's gotten into you?" Skull Boy asked, a note of fear in his voice.

Struggling weakly, the red-haired girl only grunted something intelligible in response. Then she fainted in his arms.

The gang gathered around their unconscious friend, but none of them could get a look at her face, because Skull Boy was blocking the view. He let out a gasp.

"Misery?" he said without turning his head. "Have a look at this."

"Misery, who had been standing in the back this whole time, broke through the group and went down on her knees to have a closer look.

"Oh dear", she muttered. "I was afraid this might happen."

"What might happen?" Poe asked nervously "What's wrong with her? Other than that she pased out, I mean."

"And that she attacked Frank and Len!" Iris added significantly. "What's going on here?"

Neither Misery nor Skull Boy said anything, but they both moved aside in order to let their friends have a look at Ruby's face.

The gang gasped in surprise. Or actually, about half of the gang gasped in surprise. An invisble voice that probably belonged to Boo Boo exclaimed "I knew it!". Doom Kitty nodded calmly, as if to suggest that she had known this all along.

Mr. Buns wasn't surprised, either.

Misery and Skull Boy looked at each other, ignoring the rest of the gang for a moment. "I... I have noticed her teeth before" Skull Boy began, "But they were so small. I didn't think…."

"She must have been resisting her natural instinct – her thirst - for quite some time" Miserry suggested. "Her fangs were not allowed to grow properly. Until now, anyway. I was hoping I could be wrong, but this proves it…"

She turned and nodded at the rest of the gang. Then she finally said what everybody (except for Frank and Len) was thinking, but nobody else dared to say:

"…Ruby is a vampire."

Scardey passed out again.

A/N So, now you know what we've been hinting at for Ruby. I had planned to drag this out one more chapter, but I thought I'd leave you all a gift.

Continuing what I said at the top though, now that we're out of the lighter and softer territory, I don't know where to go. Naturally, things will get darker but there's so many plans and ideas. So, I'll ask you guys. Where would you like to see this story go? A fantasy direction? A more urbane approach? Something else?

Oh, the last thing I thought I'd mention is my dream for this fic. My hope is that Tall T and I can make this story worthy of a TVTropes page. This isn't so much a hint to you guy's, just the level of quality I'm hoping we can provide. I guess it's up to you guys to decide if it's worthy of that honor.


	4. Beyond The Boundary

_**Beyond the Boundaries**_

"Guys, I think she's coming through!"

That was Skull Boy's voice. Ruby could make out that much.

The first thing Ruby noticed as she opened her eyes was Skull Boy and Misery standing a few meters away from her. Skull Boy seemed concerned, and acted as if he wanted to move in closer, but Misery stopped him. The rest of the gang slowly gathered around her, but Misery kept making gestures, like she didn't want the rest of them to get too close, either.

"Ruby! Are you all right?" Iris cried, her hand waving above Misery's head.

Ruby looked around. She was feeling woozy, but noticed she was sitting in an old, worn-out armchair in a badly lit room.

"I think so" she replied, trying to sound reassuring. Slowly, she began rising from the chair.

"Careful, Ruby!" Skull Boy cried. "Are you sure you're ready to stand up yet?"

Ruby chuckled. "Skull Boy, relax. I'm not that…bad…off…" The red-haired girl hesitated as she noticed a full-sized mirror in front of her. She moved closer. "What the…?"

"Oh good, she noticed. Now we can get down to business." Misery told Skull Boy cooly.

"Let's wake up Scardey first." Skull Boy insisted. "I want everyone to be present for this."

"That shouldn't be a problem." she commented, roaming through the bat's suitcases. "Knowing Scardey, he probably remembered to pack some smelling salts. Ah yes, here it is." The grey-faced girl went over to Scardey and held something to his face.

"Wait, if you knew that Scardey was packing smelling salts, why didn't you use it on Ruby?"

"I didn't know, I just assumed", Misery specified. "In any case, I would've advised against using it on Ruby. In her condition, it might be dangerous."

Slowly, the little rain forest bat moaned and opened his eyes. For a moment, Ruby forgot to worry about her own condition – whatever it was – and the somewhat disturbing things she had just seen in her own reflection, and went to check on her friend. "Scardey" she said in a mellow voice. "Are you ok?"

The winged mammal got in a sitting position. "Uh, yes, I think so…but I just had the strangest dream. I think it was perhaps the result of sunstroke or something…" As he stared Ruby in the face, he jumped into the air with a scream. This came is no surprise to anybody. "AAAHH! It was true! Ruby is a _bhuta_!" **[1]**

"Not a bhuta, Scardey. A vampire." Skull Boy corrected him with a calm matter-of-factly voice which sounded bizarre under the circumstances. "There's a difference."

"Yes, a bhuta will devour your flesh. A vampire merely drinks blood" Misery added.

"Thank you very much for those reassuring words, Misery." Scardey said with the most sarcastic voice he could muster. "The knowledge that Ruby will settle for drinking my blood and not bother with feasting on my limbs makes me SO MUCH MORE RELAXED!"

"Guys, guys, I'm not going to drink anyone's blood!" Ruby said firmly. "And I am not a vampire!"

"Ah, but I'm afraid you are." Misery replied bluntly.

"Misery, snap out of it!" Iris added. "Of course Ruby is right! She can't be a vampire! For one thing, she's been out in the sun all day. Okay, so she had a seizure, but that could've happened to anyone of us…"

"And don't forget, she just saw herself in the mirror." Frank pointed out. "Everyone knows vampires don't have a reflection."

"_AGH! Tá mé ag timpeallaithe ag leathcheann!_**" **Misery shouted. **[2]**

For a moment, the rest of the gang just stood there staring at her, bewildered.

"It's not polite to insult someone in a language you know they don't understand." Skull Boy whispered to her.

"I know, but it helps", Misery groaned. She rubbed her forehead. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

Skull Boy turned to the others. "What Misery is trying to say is that you shouldn't believe everything you've seen in movies." he explained calmly. "For one thing, sunlight isn't deadly to vampires. It just weakens them."

"That makes sense." Poe added. "Even Bram Stoker mentions that vampires may walk in the sun if necessary. I just knew a distinguished man of the theatre like Mr. Stoker wouldn't make such a mistake in his research." the crow concluded with satisfaction.

"What about Ruby's reflection, then?" Scardey asked.

"That's based on the assumption that you can't be seen in a mirror if you don't have a soul." Skull Boy explained.

"Which is rubbish, of course." Misery added, "And it doesn't matter anyway, because vampires _have _souls, even though they're often tainted."

"People, people, aren't we forgetting something here?" Iris called. "Something very important?"

"What did you have in mind?" Poe asked.

"Blood!If Ruby is a vampire, how come she never drinks _blood_?"

Everyone looked at Misery and Skull Boy.

"Well, that..." Skull Boy hesitated. "I've heard some theories, but I haven't quite figured out...Misery?"

She nodded.

"Vampires _crave _blood." Misery began. "In the same way that others may crave drugs. But they can live without it. It's just that most of them don't want to. In most vampire communities, it's not even considered socially acceptable to do without it." She looked at Ruby. "But you...You've never even had black pudding or steak rare done, have you?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not as I can remember."

Misery began walking in circles around her friend. "Then again, you've never been in the company of other vampires, either. Of course! It all makes sense now!"

"How do you guys know so much about vampires?" Iris asked. The question was clearly aimed at both Misery and Skull Boy.

"I've read a lot about them." Skull Boy answered.

"My maternal grandfather was a vampire." Misery said.

This was met with a collective gasp.

"Why haven't you told us before" Skull Boy asked.

"You never asked." She responded dryly. "Although even if you did, I probably wouldn't have told you. It's not something you'd bring up in polite company, unless it's a polite company of vampires. But these are extraordinary circumstances."

"But if your granddad was a vampire, doesn't that make you part –"

"Genetics doesn't work that way in our family", Misery cut him off. "Can we focus on Ruby, please?"

"Fair enough", Iris responded. "I have another question about Ruby".

"Yes?"

"Why did she attack Frank and Len?"

Misery sighed. She looked even more unhappy than usual.

"Vampires can do fine without blood if they stay at places that aren't too bright, hot or sunny. So naturally, Gloomsville was a perfect place for Ruby to grow up. But after being exposed to so much sun for several hours...let's just say that her deeper, primal instincts kicked in and she was overwhelmed by the blood thirst. As for why she attacked Frank and Len specifically…" She looked at the two-headed teen. "Traditionally, vampires go for the neck…And droll though this may sound, it's possible that she instinctively attacked the one with two necks to get twice the amount of…"

"ENOUGH! ENOUGH!"

Rather confusingly, given his physique, Skull Boy had eyeballs, and they currently were fiery red with anger. Ruby had never heard Skull Boy breathe this heavily before. In fact, she wasn't sure if she'd ever heard him breathe at all. And she had certainly never seen him grab Misery by her collar and yell at her.

"Are you telling me that Ruby – _our _Ruby – let herself be reduced to some wild animal who would suddenly attack her friends openly just to succumb to some sick, unnatural instinct? YOU 'RE LYING! Ruby would rather die! "

Skull Boy's tantrum made everyone except for Ruby and Misery cower – Probably, Ruby mused, not because of the tantrum itself, but rather because of whom it came from.

"Skull Boy" Misery began slowly while he was still holding her by the collar, "This has been a very long and trying day for all of us, and I do believe we're all entitled to one emotional outburst. I just had one myself, after all." She pushed him away. "However, for both our sakes, I have to insist that you try to calm down. I need to concentrate to avoid a disaster. An abandoned building isn't the safest place to be for someone of my accident-prone nature."

"Wait, we're in an abandoned building?" Ruby asked. In all the hubbub going on, it had never occurred to her to ask where they were.

"It seemed like the most sensible option." Poe explained. "Medioca isn't like Gloomsville."

Misery nodded. "Yes, if a cyclops, a two-headed guitarist, a skeleton carrying an unconscious vampire, and a..._me_ tried to check into a hotel in this town, it might cause some...tension."

"It's purely a tempoarary solution", Skull Boy assured her, as he noticed the sceptical look in her eyes. "We justy needed to get you under a roof as soon as possible. Are you sure you feel okay?"

Ruby rubbed her chin. "I think so." She paced around in what probably used to be the living room. "But I have this weird feeling. Sort of like being thirsty, but not quite..."

"That would be the craving, then." Misery stated. "But there's still time to stop it." She turned around and faced the rest of the gang. "Remember what we agreed on?"

Poe suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "This is going to be so embarrassing..." he groaned.

"I do not see what the big deal is, Poe." Scardey commented. "I get embarrassed almost as easily as I get scared, but I never had any problem with not wearing clothes. Besides, you do not wear trousers, so you are always half-naked anyway."

Poe slapped his forehead and groaned even louder. "Oh, did you have to remind me?"

"Too much civilization will ruin you, my mum always says."

"Now whatcha talking about?" Ruby asked.

"We need to go out and get some supplies" Skull Boy explained, "And since people in Medioca aren't used to anthropomorphic beasts, it means Poe has to get undressed and pretend to be a non-talking bird."

"I bet it's the "non-talking" part that really bugs him!" chuckled Boo Boo, who had suddenly decided to materialize.

"Just remember, people in Medioca probably aren't used to seeing ghosts, either." Misery pointed out.

"That's the best part! I can take'em completely by surprise!"

"You will do no such thing!" Misery hissed. "We'll draw enough attention without you stirring up trouble. Stay invisible, or I'll tell your mentors you're trying to haunt outside of your territory!"

Boo Boo frowned "You're bluffing. You have no way of contacting them!"

"_Try me!_"

Boo Boo looked uncertain.

"But you are coming with us anyway, right?" Iris asked him. She was about to put on a biker's jacket to go with the helmet she needed to hide her eye.

The kid ghost sighed. "Yeah, I'm gonna be more bored if I stay here."

"By the way, where's Mr. Buns?" Iris asked as she zipped up her jacket.

"Oh he's busy." Frank replied, as if that explained everything. Misery threw Frank and Len a glance, and decided to pretend that it made sense to her. Then she went for an unopened suitcase.

"Ruby," she said, turning towards her friend. "Do you mind if I borrow one of your spare sets of clothes?"

"Not at all, Misery. But what do you need them for?"

"I'm going to take my mother's advice for once, and change my style of clothes. My usual outfit might be too…remarkable for people in this city. But I figure that if I go _goth_, people will think my look is a fashion statement, and they'll ignore my complexion."

"Complexion…? Oh…right…" It had never occurred to Ruby that Misery's grey skin might seem unnatural to some. After all, most people in Gloomsville were rather pale. But they were not in Gloomsville anymore…

"These sunglasses might help, too." Misery added, putting on the emergency glasses she had not used since the last Friday the thirteenth.

"Someone needs to stay here and look after Ruby while you guys are out", Skull Boy mentioned to Misery as soon as they got a moment alone, and Misery had finished attiring her goth disguise. "I volunteer."

"I agree", Misery responded, "In fact it has to be you. Ruby enjoys your company."

"She enjoys everyone's company." Skull Boy pointed out.

Misery muttered something about "not getting it" under her breath. Then she said to him: "Then there's the fact that with the exception of Boo Boo, you're the only of us without any blood. So you won't be in danger of tempting her."

Skull Boy looked down. "Oh yeah, there's that…", he said glumly.

She smiled faintly, and put a hand on his shoulder. "You have to keep our spirits up. You and Ruby! Please don't make me try to be the heart of the group. It doesn't suit me."

A violin chord interrupted the conversation. Misery and Skull Boy looked down.

"I'm sorry, Doom Kitty, but there's blood in you as well." Skull Boy said calmly.

"Misery, we're ready to go!" Iris announced from the outside.

Misery put her staff aside, and prepared to leave. "Nobody's going to force you, Doom." She told the black cat. "But the craving is not something to be taken lightly."

"Use your instincts, girl." Skull Boy suggested.

Doom Kitty looked at Ruby, and for a moment, she shuddered. Then she made a tiny chord as if to say "I'm sorry", and reluctantly followed Misery to the corridor.

After this, everything happened fast. Ruby didn't even get a chance to see everyone as they left the building. From the corridors she heard Len commenting that the place didn't seem too dusty for an old, abandoned building. Then she winced as she heard part of the ceiling fall, accompanied by a dull "Ow.", from Misery.

And then she was alone. With Skull Boy. She started to feel her cheeks warm up despite herself. Skull Boy, However, looked signifcantly less cheerful.

"So..." Ruby murmured, trying to break Skull Boy out of his silence. "Um... how long have you known? About my... condition." Ruby winced. She didn't really mean it to sound so... negative.

Skull Boy turned to look at her, attempting a smile. "Well... to be honest, I never really suspected it till the train. Misery's the one who figured it out."

"Well, either way, thanks for standing up for me Skull Boy." Ruby said glowingly. "I don't think she meant anything by it though."

"I know, but..." Skull boy fell silent. After a few long moments, Ruby heard him mutter something incoherent.

"What 's wrong?" Ruby asked.

Skull Boy spun around, his usual goofy smile back on his face. "Ah, it's nothing. Just wondering about the building's structure. Maybe I'm from a line of architechts!" He beamed.

Ruby smiled warmly. Skull Boy was back to normal, for now, at least.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep, Skull Boy." She said calmly. Skull Boy turned from his study of the building and nodded in acknowledgement. Ruby couldn't help but notice his smile seemed less... enthused then it should be.

As she drifted back to sleep, she unwillingly wondered if she did the right thing.

A/N I apologize for the utter suck that is the ending dialogue. That was all me.

The next chapter _should_ be out a lot faster. After that, enough preparations should be made to get back to the plot. Oh, and in terms of the last chapter's question, I decided to go with a mish mash of genres and settings. It is a world tour, after all.

**Footnotes:**

[1] Bhuta: Indian ghoul.

[2] Irish-Gaelic for "I'm surrounded by idiots!" Gaelic is not Misery's first language, but after staying in Ireland for so long, she picked up some phrases.


	5. The Child Without A Name

The Child Without A Name

In a room, one girl sat alone. The room was empty for the most part, outside of a few necessities. A bed, a desk and a cupboard. The girl was young, 12, maybe 13. Her hair, colored a rich blue was tied up in a ponytail. She seemed normal, if melancholic to a casual observer... until one noticed the patch covering her left eye.

She sat straight up on the bed, quietly sewing.

Her task was interrupted when a loud knock came at the door. The girl sighed, putting down her thread.

"What do you require, officer?"

A man entered, though she noticed he was not her usual keeper. This one looked older, mid 30's she'd guess. Short blonde hair, strong frame... the typical soldier look. Charming.

"Apologies ma'am, but M.O.M. requires your presence in the conference room immediately."

The girl sighed. She hated being interrupted, even when she was doing something as trivial as sewing. But duty is duty...

"I take it that you are here to escort me as well." She stated simply, looking up. The man was nearly twice her size, but his stance clearly indicated he felt outranked. He seemed new to the Center.

"Again, I apologize, but you know the rules."

The girl stood with mild reluctance and walked up to her "escort". "Lead the way.", she said simply. The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded, taking off down the hallway, Sapphire following in silence.

Though the pace was brisk, the girl kept up with her escort. To a casual observer, they would almost look like a father and his child.

"Is there a problem?" She finally spoke, breaking the long standing silence between them. The man looked down awkwardly. ?N-no ma'am. Just... "

"You are surprised to see me. Do I not match your expectations?"

"W-well..." The officer stammered, thinking his next words over carefully. "To tell the truth ma'am... you do not. What I was told suggested a more, if you'll pardon me for a moment, intimidating, older woman."

The girl seemed to smile very briefly. "So I intimidate you because I am not intimidating?"

The man lost his pace for a moment, taken off guard. "I suppose so. I apologize. I spoke too bluntly."

The girl looked at him, but said no more. The walk continued in silence, until arriving at their destination. The conference room... she sighed inwardly. It had to be a big deal, whatever it was all about. She already felt a headache coming on. The door was guarded by two soldiers, both far more heavily armed then her escort.

"We'll take her from here, Nathan. I'm afraid you don't have clearance yet for what goes on in here." one of the men said, his tone indicating a sense of smugness.

"Yes sir!" Nathan said, saluting. He turned to leave, even made a few steps before a chill voice stopped him. "He stays." Nathan looked back, not sure if he should be confused or worried.

The soldier who ordered him to leave stammered. "That's not your call, Agent, you know that!"  
"And yet my order remains." she said, her voice being just as icy as before.

"You can't make orders like that!"

The officer to the left sighed. "Miss Sapphire," he said wearily. "I apologize, I do, but it isn't that simple. Even if you do go in with him, we are the ones blamed for it. With all due respect, we would rather keep our jobs."

Sapphire continued to glare at the other soldier, before relenting. "Very well. But I want him given clearance. I trust that can be arranged." It wasn't a request, and the guard knew it. "I'll see what I can do." he said firmly. Sapphire nodded and turned to a bewildered Nathan.

"We will speak again soon." She said and walked into the room with the soldiers, leaving Nathan alone with his questions.

Sapphire recognized the people present. Looking around, she noticed Mrs. M, or M.O.M., sitting in the middle. Sapphire wondered how long she had been arguing with the representative on her left hand seat, Squire Anton Valentiner, to get that seat. Valentiner had been chosen as the Center's representative because he wasn't nobility, which made him more acceptable for non-vampires. For good reasons, they didn't trust the vampire aristocracies. Except for Headmaster von Horrificus, of course, but he was too busy with his school. Mr. Valentiner got his Squire title when he married into a family of good standing in Scotland. His bride was a mortal woman, but his son was still alive and, according to some rumors, had relocated to Gloomsville recently. All the more reason for him to get involved in this affair, of course.

Then there was Lady Morose, looking as stern and..well, morose as ever, and Chieftain Tataris from Haven, a man that Sapphire had run into on one previous occasion. Back then he was wearing a suit. Now he was wearing what appeared to be a more traditional outfit of fur pants, bare (and muscular) chest and an elk skin over his back. The elk skin covered the top of his head, and for added effect, the antlers were still on. This was troubling, Sapphire knew. Nowadays, ogres never wore traditional outfits at the Center unless they wanted to express discontent. The fifth being present was clearly a spook, and she recognized him from pictures. M.O.M. had told her to call him Mr. Harvey, even though most people knew him better by a different name. He looked essentially good-natured, just like he had usually been described, but like the rest of the attendees, he seemed somewhat upset.

"Ah there you are, Sapphire." Mrs. M stated, looking down at the girl. The conference table was on a platform slightly above the main floor where Sapphire was seated; a cheap psychological effect, but it was part of the game. "Very well, the meeting is now in session." As she said this, it was as if the lid had suddenly come off a boiling pot.

"I want to know what happened to my son!" Mr. Harvey began "Also, I was assured that only the house cat has psychic powers, but now he's been telling me that this Misery could see him when he was trying to stay invisible! I'll have Mr. White and Mr. Whyte's ectoplasm skins when this is over and done with!"

"You told me my daughter would be safe!" Tataris bellowed, at Mrs. M, as if he was demanding an explanation, "Don't you have any control over these kids, ma'am?"

"My niece is beginning to trust strangers!" Morose snapped, "See where this has gotten her? I blame myself for suggesting this to my sister, but make no mistake, Mrs. M, if this gets worse, there'll be Hell to pay, and you're getting the bill!"

"Everyone, please control yourself!" Mrs. M said firmly. "Gloomsville is not a prison and not a summer camp! I never claimed that the Center was going to keep your loved ones under surveillance twenty four-seven. Granted, this was not supposed to happen either, and I will take my share of the blame. For the moment, however, I think we are confusing Miss Sapphire. Please, can we start with the beginning?"

The three council members who had tried speaking up at the same time looked at each other and nodded reluctantly. "Very good." Mrs. M said, leaning back. "Squire Valentiner, if you would like to begin?"

The vampire nodded. "The tenants of the Gloom family mansion - henceforth only referred to as the tenants, period", he added with bureaucratic smoothness, "Have compromised their own discretion, and as a result, might unknowingly but ultimately compromise ours. Madame Morose, if you would care to elaborate?"

Morose hawked. "Currently at large are: My aforementioned niece, currently the keeper of the family's vitally important position as family historian…a young Calaca which my family have been keeping under observation, even when we allowed him to travel out of town…Chieftain Tataris' only child…" Tataris nodded. "Also, the heir to the Gloom estate, who is not yet aware of her true nature." Valentiner nodded. "Although that might change any day now, if it hasn't already.", she continued.

"You think Miss Ruby might have discovered her true nature already?" Mrs. M asked

"There's this little thing called the sun, which conveniently hardly ever shines in Gloomsville." Morose commented dryly. "We all know what happens to, ahem, virgin vampires the first time they are exposed to the sun for longer periods."

"Have you made any inquiries?", Morose asked

"We had an agent discreetly questioning the sheriff of Gloomsville.." Mrs. M began.

"The sheriff is hardly a neutral party in this matter." The well-informed Valentiner pointed out. "He is the father of two of the tenants, albeit two of the less… significant ones."

"We know, but he and his wife were the only ones to be specifically informed about the tenants travel plans. We are forced to rely on his discretion in the matter. He helpfully informed us that the tenants, including his own two sons were headed to Medioca on the morning train from Gloomsville. But here's the problem. The train was reported to having railed off."

There was a general muttering.

"Not a major accidents, no known casualties." She continued. But here 's where the problem really begins: The tenants were the only passengers unaccounted for. We are working from the assumption that they walked onwards to their intended destination."

"And what was the weather like in the area?", Valentiner asked.

"I get your meaning. Alas, it was sunny all day."

More muttering.

"We probably have to fear what I fear all the time anyway: The worst." Morose looked directly at Sapphire for the first time during the meeting. "Damage control might be the order of the day for you, Miss."

"This might be a foolish question", Sapphire began, "But why do we not try and call them? On a journey like this, they probably brought cell phones…"

"You're right, that is a foolish question. Cell phones are banned in Gloomsville, as is all digital technology. They'd have nowhere to get them and likely less idea how to use them." Valentiner explained, then turned to Mrs. M. "I thought everyone knew that! Are we going to require the service of such an ignoramus?"

"If you require proof of my skill, I'd be happy to oblige!" Sapphire hissed.

"What she doesn't know, she can learn in time" Mrs. M replied sternly, "But can we all agree that we need to intervene in one way or another?"

There was chorus of 'ayes'

"Good. Ms. Sapphire, your mission, should you choose to accept it" she said in a tone which implied that choosing not to accept it, while theoretically possible, was a bad idea, "Is to seek out the tenants and join them in their journey further. If possible, try and convince them to return to Gloomsville."

She paused. ."But subtly so", she added "If you're too eager, they might suspect something. Remember you're supposed to behave as if you're an innocent, vagrant stranger who ran into the tenants purely by chance."

Sapphire nodded. It was little different from her other missions. "I assume you want regular reports. How can I send them?"

"Regular reports are unlikely, given the uncertain destination of the tenants. However, we have agents in most major cities, both human and non-human. Deliver reports to them." Ms. M said.

Sapphire nodded. "If you have no further requirements, I shall leave immediately."

As Sapphire turned to leave, she heard Ms. M hiss into her ear. "You know all about Gloomsville's rules. I assume you had a reason for feigning ignorance?"

Sapphire simply nodded, not missing a beat in her walk. Ms. M sighed, and looked around. Both Chieftain Tataris and Mr. Harvey looked pleased with her decision, or at least they _tried _to look as if they were pleased. Much to relief, they both left without any more objections when she asked them to, as respectfully as she could.

Morose walked up to her. For a moment it looked as if she wanted to say something, but as she hesitated, Ms. M decided to take the word first.

"Mr. Harvey isn't still here, is he?"

Morose activated her seventh sense, her eyes squinting and staring into empty air for a moment. Then she shook her head.

"Just between us, then" she addressed the banshee and the vampire, "A scout harpy has been spotted across the skyline between Gloomsville and Medicoa. Could be a coincidence, of course, could be a stray, and anyway, if we asked Chieftain Tataris, he'd probably deny that it was sent by _him_…"

"If there's any complications, I'm sure the two of you can work it out." Valentiner commented indifferently. "I'm more concerned about this ongoing rumor, Morose…"

Morose frowned, then sighed. "You mean the one about my father being back, of course. Well, I haven't seen anything, but I find it entirely possible."

Ms. M moved in closer. "You do?"

"Yes, it's like I can sense his presence. It's a feeling I haven't had since the fifteenth century. I didn't mention it during Sapphire presence, because I wasn't sure if it's something you want to tell her just yet."

Both Ms. M and Valentiner looked worried. The former because she wasn't sure if this was something she should tell Sapphire; the latter because he realized that his own position would be threatened if the Baron did indeed make his triumphant return.

Feeling that she had the upper hand, Morose prepared to leave.

"If it's true, and if he gets his act together, he could be out to get young Ruby. You should consider warning Miss Sapphire."

"But you still trust her ability to handle this?"

Morose stopped on her way towards the door. "She asked suspiciously few questions, which is something a…being in her position would only do if they had all the facts and then some." she commented, and Ms. M felt a sting of nervousness, fearing that Squire Valentiner would suddenly realize that something didn't add up. But his face told her nothing.

"She is loyal only to the mission, and doesn't let feelings get in the way." Morose continued. "Those are qualities I value. She knows that it's not the organization that's important. No doubt, she's seen countless organizations rise and fall, and so have the Squire and I. We won't be _here _forever.

While others…" Valentiner began, looking smugly at Ms. M. "Certain others won't _be_ here forever."


	6. A Moment To Live

Chapter 5: A moment to live

As soon as the whole gang – minus Ruby and Skull Boy - were outside, Misery asked them to stop and gather around her. She took a brief look at them. Scardey had taken off his tie, Poe had taken off his regular clothes, although he looked just as embarrassed about it as everyone had expected. Doom Kitty came trailing behind them, but she stopped too, as she saw them. Iris was wearing her biker outfit, including the helmet. And there was…

"Frank…Len…I'm afraid you have to stay here."

The brothers looked at her, shocked.

"What?"

"But-"

"Skull Boy and I discussed this, but we just couldn't think of a way to masquerade the fact that you have two heads."

"Of course we have two heads, we're two people!" Len objected.

Misery tried to avoid rolling her eyes.

"Yes…and no. You're two heads on one body, and people outside of Gloomsville are going to pay too much attention to that. I mean, you've had some bad experience with that before, you told us so."

Frank seemed to be pondering at this for a few seconds before he sighed, turned his head left and said: "She's right, Len. Remember Plainsville?"

His "younger" brother looked down.

"That's not fair, Misery." Iris complained in solidarity.

"We all have to make some sacrifices, Iris. I mean, you have to walk around with a helmet visor down even though you're not riding a motorcycle."

"That reminds me…"

"We've discussed this before Iris", Poe sighed. "We can't afford a motorcycle on our travel budget."

"We can rent one."

"Also, you don't have a license." The crow added.

"Nobody ever asked me if I had a license to ride Squig", Iris pouted.

"They have no such thing as Squig in Medioca." Misery pointed out. "As for you boys, I'm afraid you just have to stay out here in the backyard.", she told Frank and Len "If you go back inside, you're going to tempt her. Just to be on the safe side, we should keep our distance until I get her substitute."

"What kind of substitute are you going to use for blood?" Poe asked "Black pudding? Steak rare done?"

"Heavens, no! There's real blood in those! You just have to wait and see.", Misery replied while studying her shopping list. "Everybody ready?"

"One sec!" Iris replied, and picked up a figure wearing a very small trenchcoat, a very small Fedora hat and sunglasses. It was Mr. Buns.

"Nice outfit", Misery commented. She noticed that nobody thanked her for the compliment, as if the rest of the gang thought it was addressed at Mr. Buns himself. Come to think of it, they probably did.

The gang walked slowly across the unkempt garden. Though she kept a stoic face, Misery swallowed as she opened the gate leading out into the street, and wondered if the others were feeling as nervous as she secretly was. She took out the shopping list once more, just to keep her mind on something else. This turned out to be a bad idea.

"Did you remember to put monocle polish on that list?" Poe asked her.

Misery didn't answer him because she was distracted by noticing a middle-aged lady with a terrier in leash, standing just a few feet away from them. She was looking curiously at Poe.

"Did that bird just talk?" the lady asked.

Misery looked her in the eyes, something which probably didn't help much, considering...

well, a lot of things, starting with her sunglasses.

"Do birds talk?", Misery asked her rhetorically.

"I don't think so..."

"Then it stands to reason that this bird didn't talk either.", Misery concluded with glum satisfaction, and the gang hurried onward.

"That was a close one, Poe." Iris reminded him. "Non-talking bird, remember?"

"Told you he couldn't do it!" a young boy's voice added smugly.

"Stay invisible, _remember_?" Misery hissed at Boo Boo.

With an annoyed growl, the kid ghost disappeared as quickly as he had materialized.

The gang walked for a while, not getting as much attention as Misery had feared at first, until they reached a paved pedestrian zone that looked like the main street. Misery studied the civilians for a while. She noticed men with suitcases who hurried in one direction, women with strollers and heavy bags who hurried in another, and senior citizens who walked somewhat more slowly in yet another direction. Misery didn't have much experience with mundane human society, but from her period of living in her mother's suburbia home, she knew that they would find what they needed by following the women with strollers.

"Okay, we should..." she began before turning he head. "Iris!"

Iris' attention had been drawn to a Harley V-Rod, whose nuances of black did admittedly match her own clothes and helmet. She was currently sitting on it, pretending to ride.

"Vroom, vroom!"

"Iris!" Misery snapped.

Her friend turned around, but she was still moving back and forth on the bike.

"Sorry, Misery, it just looked so cool."

"Ooh, you're so cute!" A random, middle-aged lady remarked as she passed them. This made Iris stopped moving back and forth. Slowly, she climbed off the bike.

"Oh yeah, you're a real badass!" Misery remarked sarcastically as Iris got off the motorcycle.

"Did Boo Boo make you say that?" Iris growled.

"Actually…yes.", Misery replied. This caused Poe to move up and whisper something in her ear.

"Poe, I'm not saying all of _that._" Misery sighed.

Ruby's life philosophy – or one of them, she had several – was that as long as you knew you had friends out there somewhere, you were never truly alone.

For the first time ever, she was beginning to doubt this. Skull Boy was in the kitchen, Frank and Len were sitting outside, and the rest of her friends were not too far away. Yet she had never felt more alone. She walked up towards a life-sized mirror and looked at her reflection for a while. Misery is completely right, Ruby mused; there is no reason why a vampire should be invisible in a mirror, what a silly idea. And yet, looking at her own reflection made her feel more human. At least as long as she didn't move close enough to notice the little fangs…

Skull Boy would've banged his head repeatedly against the wall if he didn't think it would worry Ruby even more. He always rambled on. So why did he have no idea what to say to Ruby when she really needed a comforting word? Could it be that the only thing he really knew how to talk about was finding his purpose in life? Even though he was quite possibly undead – he'd read that someplace – that didn't mean he had any experience in this matter. Of all the potential ancestors he had made theories about over the years, the idea that he might be coming from a long line of _vampires _had never occurred to him.

Skull Boy peeked out the window and looked down at Frank and Len, sitting on the porch in the backyard. They could never leave each other's side. That was not always a good thing, but right now, Skull Boy wished he could had no choice but to stay by Ruby's side, and force himself to find the right words.

Then he noticed that Frank and Len suddenly got up, as if they were distracted by something. The two brothers moved towards the bushes. Curious, and worried that someone from town had taken notice of them, Skull Boy took the chance of opening the window and peek out to try and get a better look…

_( a few minutes earlier)_

"Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Ruby really would've drunk our blood?"

Frank had been afraid of that question. The answer he _wanted _to give his brother was "no", but…

"I…don't know, Len. I really don't know."

"If she'd bitten us, do you think we would've started eating spiders?"

"Spiders?"

"Yeah, like in the movie."

"Well, Skull Boy told us not to believe everything we see in movies."

"I thought it was Misery who said that?"

"I guess they both said it, sorta."

"Well, I hope they're right. I ate a spider on a dare once, when I was a kid, and I didn't like it."

"I know, Len, I was the one who dared ya, remember?"

They both laughed.

"So I guess Ruby isn't going to command an army of rats, either?" Len continued.

"Rats?"

"Yeah, like in that other movie…" Len began before he was hushed by his brother.

"Frank?" he asked with his voice lowered.

"I heard something!" Frank whispered, and got up – "From those bushes over there!"

Dragging with him the left body half belonging to his brother, Frank crept slowly and determinedly towards the bushes, with Len following him less stealthily and more hesitantly. The brothers stopped as they suddenly looked into a pair of yellow eyes.

The figure that slowly rose from his hiding place in the bushes didn't seem surprised to see them, but he did seem just a tad bit angry.

"What are you doing in my home?", he demanded.

At the same moment, inside said home, Ruby was suddenly overcome by an instinct she couldn't quite explain.


	7. Without the worlds forgiveness

A/N Sorry it took so long. Again. Were working on it, honest!

To answer a question about that though, part of the reason it always takes so long is due to Time Zones. Tall T and I are about 6 hours apart, so it can get difficult to get ahold of each other at a good time.

_Without the worlds forgiveness_

"_His_ home?"

"So he says."

"How can anyone live here?"

"Well we are, aren't we?"

Skull Boy sighed. Trying to have a conversation with Frank and Len inevitably meant that you had to explain many simple things.

"I mean, is he living here permanently?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself?" a young man's voice harked. Skull Boy and Misery looked up at the same time.

Standing in the doorway was a young man, maybe twenty at most. He was rather little, about a foot shorter then Misery, and skinny. His hair was red (though it was a much duller red then Ruby's), long, dirty and tangled, his eyes gold colored.

"You don't have to talk about me as if I can't hear you," he added sharply, "Because I can hear you very well, thank you."

Misery nodded and got up. "Fair enough. What's your name, sir?"

"I've been called many things, but never "sir". I'm Gabriel, or Gabe, for short."

"And what would you like us to call you?", Skull Boy asked in a friendly tone of voice.

"I don't care."

"Well, then, Garbiel…" Misery continued, "If I may be so forward: I doubt if you have any papers identifying you as the owner of this house, but you were here first, s it's only fair to ask: We have a friend who just had a…let's call it a seizure, and she needs some rest and healing. We won't be long, but would you please allow us to stay long enough to nurse our friend back to health? There's room enough for everyone here…"

"Room or not, I always chase away the hobos who keeps trying to crash this place. But you guys are…different. "

Poe, Iris, and Scardey all looked at the boy in puzzlement upon getting this last piece of information. Gabriel didn't look like a guy who would be able to chase away most hobos.

"I guess you can stay a little while."

"Thanks, we really appreciate it." Skull Boy hurriedly added.

"Another thing, could you please not go to see our friend until we say it's okay?" Misery asked. "She's upstairs."

"Yeah, whatever.", Gabriel muttered. "It's not like I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation to see her anyway." He opened a door, and opened up the door to a room with an unkempt mattress on the floor.

Without another word, Misery and Skull Boy went outside.

"You know what he is, don't you?", Skull Boy sighed

Misery nodded. "Do you?"

"I'm pretty certain, at least."

"So do you happen to know when's the next full moon?"

"I believe it's…" Skull Boy interrupted himself, and scowled at Misery.

"Waaait a minute…that was a test, wasn't it?"

Misery allowed herself a faint smile.

"You passed."

"Still, there's little chance of him turning in daylight, is there?"

"Yes. But we probably shouldn't let him get close to Ruby right away."

**~O~**

Less than an hour after they had gotten home from their shopping round, Iris was getting restless, and started walking around the house. She noticed that Misery was standing by the kitchen sink, preparing something.

"Hi Misery, watcha doing?"

"Preparing Ruby's blood substitute", she replied. "But first I thought I'd make some lunch."

"Oh yeah, I can see that." Iris had noticed a plate of toast with something black on them. "Oh, you bought dark chocolate spread!" she added enthusiastically. "I love dark chocolate spread, but they only have milk chocolate spread at the Gloomsville grocery store."

Eagerly, and before Misery had time to react, Iris picked up a toast with spread on it, and put it in her mouth. She chewed on it for just a few seconds before her face suddenly stiffened. Grimacing, she spit it out in disgust.

She gagged. "What_ is_ this stuff?" she yelled "It's _salt_!"

"Yes, and it's not dark chocolate spread, which I could've told you if you had given me a few more seconds to explain." Misery said calmly. "It's marmite."

Iris looked at her nonplussed.

"It's a yeast-based spread." She explained "Its rich, salty flavour and heavy iron content makes it an acceptable substitute for blood."

"So you expect Ruby to eat this swill?" Iris asked.

"No, I expect her to _drink _it. Marmite-for-Blood needs to be watered down and boiled first."

"Then why did you put it on these slices?"

"Those are for me. It's my lunch.", Misery explained, picked up a slice and took a bite. "You're not the only one who's been missing your favourite spread. Sorry, Iris, I didn't know you wanted dark chocolate spread. We'll buy it next time. Anyway -"

Misery handed Iris their portable stove and a black jar with a yellow sticker on it that read MARMITE. "The proportions are two parts water to three parts marmite. You make it while I finish eating this."

Iris took a whiff at the jar. It smelled as stale as it tasted. "Why do _I _have to make it?"

Misery looked at her seriously. "Well, I really don't think _I _should. There's no electricity here, so all we have to cook on is this portable gas stove, and it's a pretty old thing, too. Are you really willing to trust _me _with it?"

Iris had difficulty arguing with that. Misery handling an old gas stove sounded like a bad idea, no matter what the circumstances. They needed the roof over their heads to _stay _over their heads a little bit longer. She swallowed and went to pick up a bottle of water from the grocery bags.

**~0~**

"You get used to it." Misery told Ruby as the redhead swallowed the blood substitute. She noticed that her friend didn't seem to enjoy it any more than Iris had. But dutifully, she emptied the whole cup.

Misery and Skull Boy looked at her, and at each other, for a few minutes with slight anxiety. Finally, Skull Boy dared to ask:

"How do you feel?"

Ruby looked up, and both her friends thought they noticed more colour in her cheeks, and the somewhat glassy look in her eyes was gone.

"Better", she nodded, "Honestly…I'm much less tense now than I've been all day."

"It works then." Misery stated.

"Can I go see the rest of the gang now?", Ruby asked

Gabriel got up, and left the room so eerily quiet that Skull Boy nearly jumped. As he closed the door behind him, Misery turned and looked. For a few moments, nobody said a word. Then Misery nodded.

"Are you sure?" Skull Boys whispered.

She just nodded again.

They both turned to look at Ruby.

Skull Boy threw Misery a quizzical glance. She gave him a nearly imperceptible nod that he chose to take as a sign of approval.

"Of course Ruby, just come with us." She smiled warmly as he put her arm around her shoulder and escorted her out of the room.

Needless to say, the rest of the gang were ecstatic to see her. All except for Scardey. who spontaneously jumped up and hid in a corner. Group hugging their friend, Poe delivered gentlemanlike pleasantries, Iris asked her about marmite, and Frank and Len asked her a bunch of innocent, but under the circumstances somewhat inappropriate questions about vampires.

**~0~**

Gabe growled a bit under his breath as he laid down. Visitors. Yay. Whatever. They had till tomorrow for their friend to recover. If they weren't gone by then, maybe he could force the change and...

And what? These guys were wanderers, that's all. Nothing to worry about... probably.

So why so jumpy? The only one who could conceivably pose a threat was the banshee, but she didn't exactly seem... confrontational. But there was something in the air... a taste, a smell, a feel. He glanced at the ceiling. None of the ones he'd met seemed like much a threat. But what about the one he hadn't seen?

Misery opened the door cautiously, already knowing who was on the other side.

"We asked you not to come up yet." she frowned.

"And I decided I need to know who's in my house - Including your friend." Gabe glared at Misery, as if daring her to disagree.

Misery glared back for a moment then sighed. They weren't in any position to counter his claim. The last thing they needed was for him to force his way in. Moving aside, she let him in, keeping her eyes on him. Gabe moved clumsily, and slouched a lot.

Slowly moving her way out of the crowd, Ruby went over to the new kid and studied him up and down. She looked calm and curious, but hesitated before she smiled and greeted him in a friendly manner, thanking him for letting them stay here a little while. Gabe seemed nonplussed by this. Misery and Skull Boy were somewhat surprised by Ruby's reaction too, but that's because they weren't used to seeing her _hesitate_ before she was being friendly.

From Ruby, whose instinctive reaction was usually to greet even strangers with sincere friendliness, this was unusual. Misery and Skull Boy studied the scene with anxious interest, and after a few moments, so did Iris and Poe. Frank, Len and Scardey seemed mostly confused. Boo Boo tried to say "But he's a –", only to be hushed down by Misery and Skull Boy. From his position at the table, Mr. Buns also seemed to study it all with great interest.

Misery and Skull Boy whispered something to each other. Then they split, and apprehended two different people.

Misery took Gabe aside, but before she could say anything he sneered:

"You've brought one of those into my home! This was not part of the agreement."

"True, but we didn't have much of an agreement", Misery pointed out laconically. "And believe me when I tell you…Ruby isn't like that. She's never even tasted a drop of blood in her life! Not in a pure form, anyway."

Gabe groaned, and sighed. "I... do admit that I've never had one of those reacting to me in such a manner."

"What manner?", Misery asked rhetorically.

"Kinda…friendly. That's unusual."

Misery decided she wasn't even going to ask if he knew exactly what kind of "one of those" Ruby was. He wouldn't have expressed himself in such a way unless he knew. Nor was she going to tell him that she (and Skull Boy) knew what _he_ was. He was already aware of that, surely. Misery didn't waste words.

"So you will let us stay?", Misery said diplomatically, not wanting to challenge him.

"Yes, but you've gotta let me stay close to this…Ruby. She makes me curious."

"I can see why."

**~0~**

Taking his best friend aside, Skull Boy looked Ruby in the eyes and said:

"Ruby…listen…"

"Yes?"

"I had a talk with Misery, and well, It's important that you're being completely honest with me.."

"I always am, Skull Boy", she assured him, giving him the look that – he admitted only to himself - would've made him melt if he had any organs to melt.

"What did you feel when you met Gabriel?"

Ruby hesitated. Part of here was secretly hoping that Skull Boy was jealous. But another, more realistic part of her realized – no, _sensed _was a better word for it – that there was something else behind that question.

"Weird", she said. "Not like last night, when I lost control, but still… I felt agitated, for no reason, and something else. Something I can't really explain."

She looked Skull Boy in the eyes, and realized that this probably wasn't the most reassuring answer she could give. But she didn't want to lie to him.

"It'll be okay, Skull Boy." It was the most reassuring answer she could give him right now. And she still believed in it.

**~0~**

The feeling of unease was gradually lifted as the afternoon progressed into evening. To everyone's relief, Ruby was her same cheerful, confident self again and she chatted with everyone - Except for Gabe, whom she never talked to directly. Many times, however, she looked as if she wanted to say something to him, only to stop herself. Frank, Len and Iris, however, kept asking Gabe questions, much to his annoyance.. When Iris asked him where he comes from, he just said "from here". And that was still more of an answer than anyone else got out of him. Whenever Frank or Len asked him question about anything from his parents to his favourite bands, all they got was a grunt or a sniff.

It wasn't until nearly midnight that the conversation prompted Gabe to participate more actively. Ruby, who was interested in everything concerning her friends, wanted to hear every detail from the gang's little shopping trip, and Poe and Iris enthusiastically told her. But after a while, Ruby couldn't help but notice that the whole recollection seemed to make Misery look uncomfortable.

"It was awkward." Misery muttered when her concerned friend asked her. "It made me remember why I tried to avoid human society for so many years. What we need is some way we could get supplies without drawing attention."

"Actually", Gabe volunteered slowly. "I know a place that can help with that..."


End file.
